Harassment by Landlord's agent

VintageVixen

We moved in to a new property about 7 weeks back. We received a note put through our door on Monday, stating that the rent for last month had not been received, as our bank have not actioned the standing order.. This was hand delivered so they visited our property without notice. This was the first we had heard of it, not phone call/email saying the rent had not been received.

I then late last night received an email from the letting agent in response to my email about the note we received. Then this morning we were woken up by persistent banging on our front door. We ignored it initially yet it continued. It was a member of staff from the letting agents, with the excuse, of wanted to check our front windows as they need replacing, despite them being looked at when we moved in, as they sent round a maintenance man to look at them. We have been waiting ever since for a date on when they are being fixed. In my email to them Monday night I had stated that this had still not been done.

As far as I was aware they have to give a minimum of 24 hours notice in writing before turning up on my doorstep. I told them I would contact them about the rent payment, as even though they stated they did not receive it, the money in no longer in our account. They said they would call later to take the payment over the phone. I didn't really answer this and I just wanted him to leave as I was half dressed.

Now this afternoon we have received 5 phone calls from them! I told the guy that came round that I had not been well and I would get it sorted next week, yet they persist in continuing to call. I am going to send them an email with reference to all this, what shall I say to them in the email to get them to realise they can not harass us?

Thanks

lindsloo

Yes they are harassing you but you also need to get this sorted ASAP. Maybe when you demonstrate you are trying to get it resolved they will back off.

mrginge

Here's a suggestion to get them off your back.

Pay the rent.

[Deleted User]

VintageVixen wrote: »

We received a note put through our door on Monday, stating that the rent for last month had not been received, as our bank have not actioned the standing order.. This was hand delivered so they visited our property without notice. This was the first we had heard of it, not phone call/email saying the rent had not been received.

Hand delivery of letters is okay.

VintageVixen wrote: »

I then late last night received an email from the letting agent in response to my email about the note we received.

Email response is a-okay.

VintageVixen wrote: »

Then this morning we were woken up by persistent banging on our front door. We ignored it initially yet it continued. It was a member of staff from the letting agents, with the excuse, of wanted to check our front windows as they need replacing, despite them being looked at when we moved in, as they sent round a maintenance man to look at them. We have been waiting ever since for a date on when they are being fixed. In my email to them Monday night I had stated that this had still not been done.

Perhaps they are just a very loud knocker? If you mentioned that the windows had not been dealt with in your email then it's a plausible reason for them to attend the property. Maybe they suspect you were withholding rent intentionally due to the windows not being dealt with.

VintageVixen wrote: »

As far as I was aware they have to give a minimum of 24 hours notice in writing before turning up on my doorstep.

They must provide a minimum of 24 hours notice if they want to enter the property and you're free to reject notice, the only circumstance in which they can enter the property unarranged is in an emergency. Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 states that entering the premises requires notice, there's no mention of attending so it would seem they are okay to knock on your door with no notice. They have no right to entry though and you can ignore them.

VintageVixen wrote: »

I told them I would contact them about the rent payment, as even though they stated they did not receive it, the money in no longer in our account. They said they would call later to take the payment over the phone. I didn't really answer this and I just wanted him to leave as I was half dressed.

Didn't answer the phone? or you didn't answer his statement as he was at your door?

VintageVixen wrote: »

Now this afternoon we have received 5 phone calls from them! I told the guy that came round that I had not been well and I would get it sorted next week, yet they persist in continuing to call. I am going to send them an email with reference to all this, what shall I say to them in the email to get them to realise they can not harass us?

Look at it from the letting agents point of view, they have a tenant that has not paid their rent, is being evasive (ignoring phone calls) and has said they'll "get it sorted next week". They want a solid commitment from you, uncertainty is the problem not that you might be a week late on your rent.

Have you contacted your bank and found out what is going on?

theartfullodger

You do appreciate that rather than trying to contact you the landlord could have served a notice seeking possession & then taking you to court to evict you.

Probably wouldn't win the case but you could lose your home & become homeless.

Don't think you'll get a reference from landlord or agent either.

Your choice where you concentrate your efforts: suing for harassment or protecting your home & reputation.

Cheers!

starbarboy

Hi there

Sorry to hear about your problem.

The first thing you need to do is contact your bank and establish if the Standing Order was set up, make sure the details on the Standing Order were correct and when it was payed.

With regards to gaining access to the property, they need to give 24 hours written notice - I would take the opportunity to remind them of their obligations when you contact them.

Finally, in respect of the multiple phone calls - yes I would agree this is harassment. I would also note this on your communication.

Anyway, good luck - I hope you manage to resolve the situation.

Stephen

Ulfar

I wouldn't call 5 calls harassing when the OP is ignoring them.

Pay your rent, pestering will stop. Be prepared to be given notice at the earliest possible date.

Ulfar

VintageVixen wrote: »

It took them over 3 weeks to inform us they had not received the rent. I am not being evasive but I did inform them I had just come out of hospital and would deal with as soon as I could. In the email they provided me with the details on how to pay, which I will get sorted like I told them, the issue is that they gave me no chance to even sort it. They didn't even attempt to phone or email me until today when we were out and they left two messages and plently of missed called. I did tell them we were heading off out.

Next week is not as soon as you can. We are talking about the roof over your head, going into the bank to confirm what has happened will not take more than half an hour. If it was me I would have done it that day.

If the money has not gone out then it is still in your account for you to pay your rent.

If it has gone to the wrong account then the bank can sort that out.

[Deleted User]

VintageVixen wrote: »

I have literally just found out. I have been very unwell. The issue is that I was given no time to even attempt to find out! I will have to go in to the bank which I can not do till next week

VintageVixen wrote: »

I told them today and also when I emailed them that I would get it sorted asap, so yes they are indeed harassing me

Small piece of advice:

Humans are flakey and unreliable, tenants are humans, therefore tenants are flakey and unreliable. Depending on the type of tenancy you have and your tenancy agreement, you may be in a position where the letting agent is preparing to end your tenancy (or indeed attempt eviction).

Letting agents do not want to evict or end a tenancy as this means they have to find a new tenant, which costs time and money, however if they believe they are not going to be in receipt of rent from the current tenant again they have no choice.

Most banking is now done online or over the telephone, most people don't go into branches any more (unless it's to sign documents, or discuss products) which means when you say to an agent "The rent payment is gone from my account but I don't know where and I can't go into the bank until next week to find out" they expect the worst.

1. How does a payment just "go missing"? If a payment is made, especially by standing order, there's no real reason for it to disappear, unless someone made a big mistake.

2. Why can't the tenant phone the bank now?

3. If the tenant needs to go into a branch why can't they do it tomorrow, why must it be "next week"?

All of these questions will set alarm bells ringing. You need to be proactive about resolving this issue, if your bank is at fault then it's unfair for you to be on the receiving end of more contact than you like but ultimately the rent being paid is your responsibility. If your bank messes up, you fix it and then chase your bank after the problem between you and the letting agent is fixed.

You need to be proactive about this and understand that your letting agent wants to keep you as a tenant but they need to know what's going on. If you want to keep the letting agent off your back you need to make a commitment:

I have confirmed that payment was taken from my account, I will contact my bank tomorrow and pass along any information they provide to me to you by email by 4pm. If this is a problem with my bank that cannot be resolved by Monday I will make a second payment to you by Wednesday.

This will give them the assurances that you are being proactive, that you're not just leading them on or wasting their time. Saying you will go into a branch next week (that could be 9 days from now) is not enough, it's too open ended, you need to give them reason to believe you are working as best you can to resolve this problem.

You had time to email, why didn't you have time to phone the bank? That's what they're thinking when you say that the bank is at fault.

It's unfortunate you're ill (terrible timing eh!) but it's your responsibility as a tenant and as someone in a contract to make this right. Even if you're not the person at fault, you are the person responsible for fixing it.

VintageVixen

starbarboy wrote: »

Hi there

Sorry to hear about your problem.

The first thing you need to do is contact your bank and establish if the Standing Order was set up, make sure the details on the Standing Order were correct and when it was payed.

With regards to gaining access to the property, they need to give 24 hours written notice - I would take the opportunity to remind them of their obligations when you contact them.

Finally, in respect of the multiple phone calls - yes I would agree this is harassment. I would also note this on your communication.

Anyway, good luck - I hope you manage to resolve the situation.

Stephen

Thank you Stephen, the most helpful comment so far

Ulfar

VintageVixen wrote: »

wow total over reaction. At no point would we be given notice as we are not at fault. I am not ignoring them. I have been very unwell.

You haven't paid either your first lot of regular rent, it is down to your bank not paying which makes it your responsibility. I would notice if my mortgage didn't go out as I keep track of my finances, I wouldn't wait for the bank to contact me I would be proactive.

You have been unwell but you don't even need to go into the bank to check if the money went out and where, you can go on-line or use the phone. Your response to them making you aware of the issue when you were available, was I will sort it next week. Not good enough.

If the agency had not doing something that makes it the Landlord's problem as they are acting on his behalf.

From the Landlord's perspective you have shown yourself to be unreliable very early in the tenancy, I don't think you can be surprised if he gives you notice to quit at the end of the fixed term.